Assistive canes or walking sticks are used by many elderly individuals to assist with walking and mobility.
Many individuals think canes are solely used to help redistribute weight from a lower leg that is weak or painful to the cane and the user's arm. This may be true in many instances, however, canes also improve stability in individuals who suffer from peripheral neuropathy.
As people age, the nerves conduct slower than at younger ages. Changes in nerve conduction velocity relates to lack of transmission of position of the feet relative to the surface they are standing on. This abnormality may also be is present in people with stroke, neuropathy, aging or any other myriad variety of imbalance related problems. The input requirement is minimal to provide an individual with their spatial position. That is why elderly people just need to hold an assistant's hand and do not need to push down on it.
The peripheral nervous system sends information between your brain and spinal cord (central nervous system) to the rest of your body, including the feet and legs. Peripheral neuropathy or aging is a result of damage to peripheral nerves that causes numbness in the feet. Individuals who suffer from peripheral neuropathy often feel “off balance” and/or like they are misstepping while walking because they cannot feel the ground beneath them. This unsteadiness and imbalance is a common problem for individuals suffering from peripheral neuropathy and aging.
The feeling of being off balance can be alleviated by the use of a walking cane wherein a signal is sent from the hand to the brain that the hand is in a stable position on the cane, thereby replacing the signal that would normally be sent from the individual's feet to the brain that the individual is standing in a stable position and/or not misstepping while walking.
While conventional canes are a solution to the problems caused by peripheral neuropathy or aging, many individuals refuse to use a cane as a matter of pride as they see a cane as a sign of old age, plus being cumbersome, ugly and an ancient device.
Therefore, a need exists for a virtual cane wherein a hand-held sensor provides a physical signal or stimulation to the nerves of the hand depending on the location of the sensor in relation to the ground and/or to a secondary electronic device carried on the user's body.